Full NY Jets Madden NFL 26 ratings: multiple players disrespected

Football is back!

The NFL returned last night with the Hall of Fame Game. Unfortunately, New York Jets fans still have to wait another week, as the team won’t play its first preseason game until next Saturday.

While the real team may not be on the field yet, we’re learning what they will look like in Madden NFL 26.

Earlier in the week, EA Sports released the 99 club, rookie ratings, and the top 10 at each position. Now, we finally get the whole team.

Here are the Jets’ highest-rated players in Madden NFL 26 upon launch.

• CB Sauce Gardner: 94
• DT Quinnen Williams: 91
• WR Garrett Wilson: 86
• RB Breece Hall: 84
• OG Alijah Vera-Tucker: 84
• OG John Simpson: 82
• LB Quincy Williams: 82
• DE Jermaine Johnson: 79
• C Joe Tippmann: 79
• S Andre Cisco: 78
• WR Allen Lazard: 77
• OT Armand Membou: 77
• CB Michael Carter II: 77
• WR Josh Reynolds: 76
• S Tony Adams: 76
• DE Will McDonald IV: 76
• CB Brandon Stephens: 75
• DT Derrick Nnadi: 75
• OT Olu Fashanu: 75
• CB Azareye’h Thomas: 74
• LB Jamien Sherwood: 74
• QB Justin Fields: 74
• LS Thomas Hennessy: 73
• RB Braelon Allen: 72
• DB Isaiah Oliver: 72
• TE Mason Taylor: 72
• DE Micheal Clemons: 72

Unsurprisingly, Sauce Gardner, Quinnen Williams, and Garrett Wilson lead the Jets’ Madden ratings. Among their positions, Gardner ranks third, Williams is seventh, and Wilson shares 18th.

Following them is the running back Breece Hall and the stud guard duo of Alijah Vera-Tucker and John Simpson. While Hall is the 18th-rated running back (tied with Alvin Kamara), he has the ninth-highest speed rating at 93. This comes as no shock, as Jets fans (and opposing defenses) are quite familiar with his breakaway speed.

Quincy Williams rounds out the Jets’ 80-plus club.

Several players have a lot to improve in 2025

Heading into 2025, the Jets are an afterthought in the NFL. The excitement from 2023 to 2024 feels like a lifetime ago. Given this, it’s not a huge shock that the Jets only have seven players with a rating over 80. However, it’s shocking where some players fell in the final ranking.

The most egregious is linebacker Jamien Sherwood.

Sherwood is coming off a career year that earned him a major payday, which ranks fifth among linebackers ($15 million AAV). Despite being a coveted pending free agent, he has a rating of 74, which ranks 32nd among middle linebackers. While I understand him not having a rating of 90 overall, ranking him as the 32nd-best middle linebacker is outrageous.

After Sherwood is defensive end Will McDonald, who was given a paltry 76 rating.

Despite being tied for 12th in the NFL in sacks (10.5) and seventh in quarterback hits (24), Madden ranked McDonald as the 28th-best left end. Among all defensive ends, he is tied for 54th. Arguments about McDonald’s run defense are fair, but his pass rush production should be enough to put him well inside the top 50 among defensive ends.

With just over a month until the regular season, Madden’s ratings suggest the NFL doesn’t expect much from the Jets. With several new faces in Florham Park, New York has something to prove, both in the game and on the field.